Driving Tomorrow: Conversations for AI Leaders

Is SaaS Dead? Why AI Startups Struggle With Distribution

Mon, 27 Jul 2026 01:57:00 +0000

Is SaaS really dying—or are we misunderstanding what is actually changing?

In this episode of Driving Tomorrow: Conversations with Industry Leaders, Alicia Shapiro speaks with Sam Allen, CEO of Iterable, about the future of SaaS and enterprise AI—and why building strong technology is only the beginning.

Sam explains why the “SaaSpocalypse” may be overblown, how AI is putting pressure on traditional seat-based software models, and why distribution, trust, security, support, and execution will help determine which companies succeed. He also discusses why emerging AI startups may struggle to sell and scale within the enterprise, even when they have built compelling products.

Some highlights from the interview:

• Why the “SaaSpocalypse” narrative misses the larger issue

• What “software is cheap, distribution is expensive” actually means

• Why traditional seat-based SaaS models are under pressure

• The hidden challenges of deploying and maintaining AI in production

• Why trust, governance, security, and compliance shape enterprise adoption

• What separates companies successfully scaling AI from those still experimenting

• Why AI can increase productivity while moving bottlenecks elsewhere in the workflow

Watch the full conversation for a practical look at the future of SaaS, AI startups, and enterprise software—and what leaders should be doing now to prepare.

🔗 Learn more about Iterable: https://iterable.com

🔗 Connect with Sam Allen on LinkedIn: / sam-allen-327253

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What Investors Actually Look for in AI Startups

Mon, 20 Jul 2026 15:15:00 +0000

What do investors actually look for when deciding whether an AI startup is worth funding?

Lolita Taub, General Partner at Ganas Ventures and author of the upcoming book What Actually Matters, shares how she evaluates AI startups, what founders misunderstand about raising venture capital, and why strong business fundamentals still matter in a market filled with speed, hype, and increasingly similar technology.

Some highlights from the interview:

Why raising venture capital should support the business—not become the goal
How investors distinguish an AI-native company from an AI-enabled business or a simple LLM wrapper
Why rapid revenue, large waitlists, and media attention do not always signal sustainable momentum
How founders can identify the right investors instead of wasting time with a broad “spray and pray” approach
Why customers, trust, and community can become a defensible advantage when competitors have access to the same AI models

This is a must-watch for founders, startup leaders, and business owners who want to understand how investors assess AI companies—and what makes a startup worth funding beyond the hype.

Resources Mentioned:

Preorder What Actually Matters: https://www.lolitataub.co/book

Try Lolita's Startup-Investor Matching Tool: https://www.ganas.vc/match

Subscribe to Lolita's Newsletter: https://lolitataub.substack.com/

Ganas Ventures: https://www.ganas.vc/

Lolita Taub on LinkedIn: / lolitataub

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How AI Is Changing Search—and What Every Business Should Do Next

Thu, 02 Jul 2026 15:25:00 +0000

How will customers find your business as AI answers more customer questions directly instead of sending people to website links?

Peter Sloterdyk, Chief Marketing Officer at Gist, joins Alicia Shapiro to discuss why AI discovery is becoming an essential part of digital marketing, how AI-generated answers are changing customer behavior, and what brands can do today to improve their visibility across AI platforms.

The conversation explains why traditional SEO still matters, how Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) complements existing marketing strategies, why questions are replacing keywords, and how businesses can begin measuring and improving their presence inside AI-generated answers.

Some highlights from the interview:

Why AI discovery is shifting from keywords to natural-language questions
How marketers can begin measuring AI visibility instead of relying only on search rankings
Why understanding customer questions creates better content and stronger marketing
How publishers can protect attribution and engagement in an AI-driven search environment
Practical first steps businesses can take today without waiting for the market to mature

👉 This is a must-watch for marketers, business leaders, publishers, agencies, and anyone preparing for the next evolution of online discovery.

Company: https://gist.ai

Follow Peter on LinkedIn: / peter-sloterdyk

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AI Is Not an IT Project: How Companies Really Become AI-First

Sun, 28 Jun 2026 19:59:00 +0000

What does it really take for a business to become AI-first?

According to Sarah Kim of Cox Business, AI is not an IT project. It is an operating change that affects data, workflows, leadership, marketing, sales, pricing, and customer experience.

In this conversation, Sarah explains how companies can move toward an AI-first business model by rethinking how their growth engine works, from customer targeting and personalization to go-to-market strategy and business growth.

Some highlights from the interview:

🔹 Why AI adoption is not just a technology decision — it is a business operating decision

🔹 How connected data improves decisions around customers, pricing, sales, and growth

🔹 What operational readiness means before companies can get real value from AI

🔹 Why agent sprawl and AI governance matter as tools and workflows spread across teams

🔹 How leaders should approach build vs. buy decisions for marketing and sales AI

🔹 What the next phase of AI-first go-to-market could look like as companies move beyond isolated experiments

👉 This conversation is especially useful for business leaders, marketers, sales teams, and AI decision-makers who want to adopt AI in a way that supports real business growth instead of creating fragmented tools, unclear ownership, or disconnected workflows.

🔗 Learn more about Cox Business: https://www.cox.com/business/home.html

🔗 Connect with Sarah Kim on LinkedIn: / sarah-wind-kim-b84a8612

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What Is Physical AI? How AI Is Learning to Understand the Real World

Tue, 16 Jun 2026 20:00:00 +0000

What if AI could understand what is happening in the world around us — not just on screens, but in buildings, machines, infrastructure, and everyday environments?

Alicia Shapiro speaks with Jaime Lien, Co-Founder and Chief Scientist at Archetype AI, about Physical AI, an emerging area of artificial intelligence focused on helping machines better understand the physical world. Jaime explains how Archetype AI’s Newton model uses real-world data from sensors and connected systems to help people ask questions about what is happening around them.

Some highlights from the interview:

🔹 What Physical AI means and why it is becoming important now

🔹 Why the physical world is harder for AI to understand than text, images, or software

🔹 How real-world data can reveal patterns people may not notice as they happen

🔹 How Newton helps connect sensor data with natural language

🔹 Why Physical AI is bigger than robots and could help organizations better understand machines, buildings, infrastructure, and operations

👉 This is a must-watch for anyone interested in how AI is moving beyond chatbots and software into the real-world environments where people live, work, build, and make decisions.

👉 Read the full article: Archetype AI Targets the Operational Intelligence Gap With Physical AI

🔗 Learn more about Archetype AI: https://www.archetypeai.io/
🔗 Connect with Jaime Lien on LinkedIn: / jaime-lien

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How AI Is Helping Teams Build Production-Ready Business Apps Without Developers

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 19:51:00 +0000

What if your team could build the exact software it needs—without developers or expensive SaaS tools—and actually run your business on it?

I sat down with Shiran Brodie, Head of Growth & Marketing at Softr, to talk about how AI is changing the way businesses build and use software. From internal tools to client portals, Softr is helping teams move from rigid systems to customizable apps built around the way their business actually works.

Some highlights from the interview:

How teams can build custom business tools without relying on developers
What it takes to create apps teams can actually use in day-to-day operations
A real walkthrough of how a team goes from idea to a working app
When it makes more sense to build instead of buy software

👉 This is a must-watch for anyone rethinking their tech stack or looking to move faster with AI.

Read the full article on AiNews.com: How Softr AI Builds Production-Ready Apps for Business Teams

🔗 Learn more about Softr: https://www.softr.io/

🔗 Connect with Shiran Brodie on LinkedIn: / shiranbrodie

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Why AI Adoption Stalls—and What Businesses Must Get Right | Darren Kimura

Thu, 14 May 2026 19:24:00 +0000

Why do so many companies invest heavily in AI—only to get stuck in endless pilots?

I sat down with Darren Kimura, CEO of AISquared, to talk about why AI adoption often fails at the “last mile,” where agentic AI is delivering real value, and what leaders need to do now to turn AI into measurable business outcomes.

With experience spanning startup leadership, venture capital, and over $1.23 billion in enterprise value creation, Darren brings a practical perspective on what separates AI hype from real operational impact.

Some highlights from the interview:

Why many companies think they’re AI-ready—but aren’t
Where AI agents are helping businesses today—and where expectations are too high
What “vibe coding” gets right—and where human expertise still has to lead
Why governance, security, and trust matter more than speed in enterprise AI adoption
What leaders need to decide now before AI infrastructure choices become expensive mistakes

👉 This is a must-watch for anyone leading AI adoption, evaluating enterprise AI strategy, or trying to move beyond stalled pilots and into real business outcomes.

🔗 Learn more about AISquared: https://aisquared.ai/

🔗 Learn more about AI Squared Bolt: AISquared Launches Bolt to Eliminate Token Burden on Enterprise AI - AI Squared

🔗 Connect with Darren Kimura on LinkedIn: / darrenkimura

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TechCon SoCal: How AI, Startups, and Investors Turn Connections Into Real Outcomes

Tue, 12 May 2026 22:00:00 +0000

How does TechCon SoCal connect startups, investors, and industry leaders to drive real business outcomes?

Faisal Mushtaq, Founder and CEO of TechCon Global, joins Alicia Shapiro of AiNews.com to explain how TechCon SoCal brings together AI startups, investors, and operators to create funding opportunities, strategic partnerships, and real-world execution—not just networking.

In this conversation, we cover how TechCon is designed as a multi-region innovation platform, how events like TechCon SoCal help turn ideas into outcomes, and why connecting capital with execution is critical in today’s AI-driven economy.

Some highlights from the interview:

Why most tech conferences fail to create real outcomes—and what actually works
How TechCon SoCal connects startups with investors and decision-makers
How partnerships and funding opportunities are created during the event
Why universities and early talent play a key role in the innovation ecosystem

👉 This is a must-watch for anyone building, investing, or navigating AI, startups, and innovation.

🔗 Learn more about TechCon Global: https://www.techconglobal.com

🔗 Connect with Faisal Mushtaq on LinkedIn: / mushtaqfaisal

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How Newsrooms Use AI Without Losing Trust (Fact-Checking, Quality, Guardrails)

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 22:22:00 +0000

Can AI help journalism move faster without sacrificing accuracy and trust?

In this episode of Driving Tomorrow: Conversations with Industry Leaders, I sat down with Jon Stokes, Co-Founder of Symbolic.ai, to explore how publishers can move beyond AI experimentation into practical, responsible daily use. We talk about where AI actually fits in newsroom workflows, how AI-powered fact-checking can reduce material errors, and why “humans in the loop” is still the only serious approach for professional journalism.

Some highlights from the interview

How publishers identify real workflow pain points (and which tasks AI shouldn’t touch)
AI fact-checking as “supported vs. unsupported” claims, and why that matters for editorial trust
Why the “volume SEO” era is fading, and how internal linking + quality standards matter more now
Guardrails: trusted source lists, standards enforcement, and keeping responsibility with the human publisher
What large newsroom adoption can mean for smaller outlets with tighter budgets

👉 This is a must-watch for anyone in journalism, publishing, or comms who needs to improve speed and accuracy while protecting credibility.

🔗 Learn more about Symbolic.ai: https://symbolic.ai

🔗 Connect with Jon Stokes on LinkedIn: / jonstokes

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Why Banning AI Backfires: A CISO Playbook for Safe Adoption

Thu, 05 Feb 2026 00:23:00 +0000

Is banning AI the biggest mistake a CISO can make?

In this episode, I sit down with Jeremy Ventura, Field CISO at Myriad360, to unpack the real risks of unmanaged AI in the enterprise. When employees turn to personal devices and unsanctioned tools, outright bans can push AI usage underground—creating shadow AI and expanding security blind spots.

📌 Highlights:

Why banning AI use can create more risk, not less
The rise of shadow AI and what it borrows from shadow IT
The biggest unmanaged-AI risks: data exposure, IP leakage, and compliance gaps
How CISOs can co-create AI policies that actually get followed
AI in cybersecurity: accelerating defenders—and lowering the barrier for attackers

👉 This is a must-watch for CISOs, IT leaders, and executives trying to enable AI safely without slowing the business down.

🔗 Learn more about Myriad360: https://www.myriad360.com

🔗 Connect with Jeremy Ventura on LinkedIn: / jeremyventura

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